Barb forming tools and the process of their use, for creating in the blade of a felting needle an efficient barb, are not new, and I refer particularly to my prior U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,307,238; 3,844,004; and 3,641,636. Such tools and procedures, however, require the application of several different steps or procedures, including the smoothing or finishing step, and several different tools or machines to complete the cavity with its throat and barb. The multiple tool procedure could not provide uniformity and duplication of the barbs, thus minimizing the ability of the user of the needle to control his finished product. Therefore, in the past, where separate barbing, shaping, and kickup dies have been required (each step, or the final step, may have required a subsequent smoothing operation to remove sharp edges or burrs which would tend to cut the fibers) it is understandable that the cost of the needles was high because of the excessive manufacturing time and labor required. But more critically, none of the past tools and processes have been able to constrain and control the blade and barb material to provide identical barbs, and for the first time I am able to form a felting needle with uniform perimeter contours because I control the lateral formation during the swaging operation.